WEALTH NOT BY RIGHT BY Pastor Israel W. Abam
WEALTH NOT BY RIGHT
INTRO: There is a race most
of us are involved in; it so undignifying,
we have tagged it "the rat race”. It is the race for survival; the race
to make it in life. It is very sad because this race ought to be for the
world that has denied its creator and upholder and not for those who
claim to be His children. Today, I challenge you to quit this ungodly
race and get on the rest for those whose God is in control over the
affairs of the world.
Rules of the Rat Race- The ungodly race the world is actively engaged in
has rules by which it is engaged in; such rules are
a. The winner takes it all
b. Get all you can and can all you get
c. Be smart- cheat the fool
d. Be smart- defraud the slow
e. Be smart- dupe the negligent
f. Be smart- lie your way through
g. Be smart- cover up or destroy
h. Oppress the poor
i. Intimidate the weak
j. Afflict the opponent
k. Torment he who speaks up against you
l. Close the doors against the truth
m. Cut out compassion
n. Flatter always – it is a sure way to favor
o. Criticize the good
p. Praise the terrible
q. Celebrate the Brigand
r. Reward the mediocre
s. Victimize the bold; and
t. Eradicate the righteous.
Every day people run the rat race by these rules and are making it big
time. They give testimonies of how successful they have become as they
play by these rules and many hearing these ‘glowing’ testimonies take
time to learn these rules and apply them in their own bit of the rat
race with hopes of making it too.
Hear me child of God, it is not the beginning of a thing that counts but
the end thereof-
Eccl. 7:8 "Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and
the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.”
The Bible is replete with scriptures describing God’s disposition
towards those who are involved in the rat race:
Prov. 20: 17 says: "stolen bread tastes sweet, but it turns to gravel in
the mouth.” - NLT.
The NKJV states: "Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but
afterwards his mouth will be filled with gravel.”
In V. 21 it says: "An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning will
not be blessed at the end.” Oh how God hates dishonesty!
In V.23 of Prov. 20, it says: "The Lord detests double standards; He is
not pleased by dishonest scales.”
V.10 of the same chapter says: "Diverse weights and diverse measures.
They are both alike, an abomination to the Lord.”
In Prov. 21: 6 the Bible declares: "Getting treasures by a lying tongue
is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death.”
And in Prov. 22: 16 it says: "He who oppresses the poor to increase his
riches …. Will surely come to poverty.”
Look at Vv.22- 23 of Prov. 22:
"Do not rob the poor because he is poor, nor oppress the afflicted at
the gates; for the Lord will plead their cause, and plunder the soul of
those who plunder them.”
All the rules of engagement established by the world for the rat race
are ungodly as you would have observed. How then can we be comfortable
to participate in that race just to make it in life? It is a dangerous
thing to do.
In Ps. 52: 1- 7 we see the end of the man involved in the rat race.
” Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? The goodness of
God endureth continually. Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp
razor, working deceitfully. Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying
rather than to speak righteousness. Selah. Thou lovest all devouring
words, O thou deceitful tongue. God shall likewise destroy thee forever,
he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and
root thee out of the land of the living. Selah. The righteous also shall
see, and fear, and shall laugh at him: Lo, this is the man that made
not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and
strengthened himself in his wickedness or substance.”
Do you still want to get wealth by the principles and standards of the
world? Check this out:
"Like a partridge that hatches eggs she has not laid, so are those who
get their wealth by unjust means. At midlife they will lose their
riches; in the end they will become poor old fools”. – Jer.17: 11 NLT.
Wealth not by right has wings. The Bible in Prov. 23:4-5 talks about
this type of wealth when it warns:
"Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when
to quit. Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches
certainly make themselves wings; they fly away like an eagle toward
heaven.”- NKJV
Child of God, avoid that which is not forever. This type of wealth is
not forever- Prov. 27: 24 "For riches are not for ever: nor doth the
crown endure to every generation.”
In Prov. 28: 6 the Bible says: ”Better is the poor that walketh in his
uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich.”
In V.20 it says: "A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he
that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.”
In V.22 it declares: "He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and
considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.”
Conclusion.
Some will read this article and immediately conclude that I am one of
those who still maintain that the Christian is designed to live and die
poor in this world and is therefore canvassing that view here. Such
thinking is very far from the truth and is evidence of the fact that
such a person has no real understanding of this article. On the
contrary, I run a School of wealth wherein I teach believers the need
for Christians coming into stupendous wealth that the world is yet to
experience because as heirs of God; joint heirs with the Lord Jesus
Christ, our portion is all that our Father has. The earth is His and the
fullness thereof. He has the gold and the silver, and indeed every
precious thing upon the face of the earth. Riches, durable riches belong
to Him; the cattle’s upon a thousand hills belong to Him, and He has
given us the power to get all these things in abundance. This is what I
believe, practice and teach with tangible and verifiable results.
However, every day I see numerous believers; children of the King of
Kings, going the way of the world and ending up like the world in their
bid to get the wealth that already belongs to them for which they have
already been empowered by their Father. So concerned by this trend I
feel the need to call our attention to the truth that there is a right
way to get wealth and a wrong way to getting the same wealth, hence this
article.
Why get involved in the rat race when your Father desires to make you
rich and has released to you His power to get wealth. Be wise, receive
His power and get your wealth by right.
OVERCOMING THE FAMINE-1
INTRO: There is famine in the land. The world is experiencing a time of
famine. Though we are not of this world, times like this could affect
us. In fact some of us have started feeling the impact. Please, allow me
to share with you a simple yet profound strategy you must employ to
overcome this famine.
In Gen 26: 1-6 the Bible says: "And there was a famine in the land,
besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went
unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. And the LORD
appeared unto him, and said, ‘Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land
which I shall tell thee of: Sojourn in this land, and I will be with
thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give
all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I swore unto
Abraham thy father; And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of
heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy
seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because that Abraham
obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and
my laws. And Isaac dwelt in Gerar.”
1. It is a season: Before going on to share the strategy let me make a
few points and encourage someone’s heart. The first of such points is
that this time of famine is a season. This is very good news. Seasons
come and go they don’t last forever. When men fall into difficulties one
of the things that trouble their hearts is the need to know when it
will be over. The season of famine comes when God gets angry at the
wickedness of men so it will last for as long as His anger lasts. How
long therefore does God’s anger lasts? Ps 30: 5 gives us answer. It
says:
"For His anger endureth but a moment; in His favor is life: weeping may
endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”
Don’t let your heart fail you therefore no matter how server this famine
gets; it will soon come to an end; it is not everlasting. Be strong and
courageous, though it may be difficult right now. Tough times don’t
last but tough people do.
2. You are covenanted: There was something about Isaac that attracted
God. What was that? It was not what Isaac was contemplating at doing in
the midst of the famine. After all Isaac was exactly in the same place
where his father, Abraham, was when he too came into a season of famine
and had to go down to Egypt and God did not come to him to stop him. See
Gen. 12:1-20.
For Isaac, God in the time of famine had to come because he was already
covenanted. He carried the ratified covenant between God and his father
Abraham but which was yet to be ratified by Him. For Abraham God did not
stop him from going down to Egypt because being in covenant with God,
God knew that wherever he went, the covenant will speak so that even
though he messed up by lying that Sarah was his sister, God
nevertheless, overlooked his lie and caused Pharaoh to enrich him and
send him away loaded. However, for Isaac God would not take that chance.
He had to first give Isaac room to ratify the covenant he was carrying
by stopping him from going down to Egypt; a type of the corrupting world
before He can let him loose.
Some of us here have ratified our covenants with God so even if we go
down to Egypt in these time, God may allow us. He can trust us to come
out intact with our faith. He knows that the seal of the covenant, the
Holy Spirit, will not allow us to go astray. We have grown to the point
where we cannot be separated from the love of Christ so that no matter
the misbehavior, our hearts are still sensitive to the convicting power
of the Holy Spirit.
For so many of us on the other hand, we are like Isaac with his covenant
yet to be ratified, God won’t risk us. Consequently in the time of
famine, everywhere we turn we’ll hear His voice preventing us from going
down to Egypt because we are carriers of the covenant but are yet
experienced to ratify the covenant by being sensitive to the Holy
Spirit’s convictions.
3. Overcoming strategy: For the 99% of us who are like Isaac, who are
yet to experience personal ratification of the covenants of God,
whenever we hear God’s voice stopping us from going down to Egypt;
preventing us from employing worldly principles and strategies to
overcome these times, obedience to God’s word is the only way by which
we can come out tops.
Isaac was planning to go down to Egypt; he was going to employ the same
principles and strategies the world was offering to deal with the famine
but God spoke to him and told him not to do that. He obeyed. Child of
God, please understand, that obedience is the force by which every
covenant is activated. First, it makes common sense to do what others
are doing to survive the times. To be asked not to do so does not make
sense; but Isaac obeyed what God was saying to him. To you it may not
make sense now but just obey. Every act of obedience to God’s word
particularly when it does not make sense is an act of celebration of
your confidence in God and in His faithfulness.
Secondly, to sow in the time of famine is madness seeing that naturally
speaking the seed cannot yield any harvest; but Isaac obeyed. The things
that are impossible with men are possible with God. Whenever God calls
upon us to do something that appears foolish or impossible by our
natural perspective, we must obey. Our obedience is what will release
His miracle working power to suspend the laws of nature and make
possible that which is impossible. Hear me Child of God, when you obey
God in times like this and refuse to follow the worldly system but sows
when it does not make sense, you are demonstrating to the world that you
trust God.
Jer. 17: 8 tells us what will happen to you when you so obey: "For he
shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spread out her roots
by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be
green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall
cease from yielding fruit.”
Why would God not want you to go down to Egypt and employ the strategies
of the world? There is a curse and God wants you to avoid it.
Jer. 17:5 - 6 says: "Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trust
in man, and make flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the Lord.
For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when
good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a
salt land and not inhabited.”
Isa. 1: 19 declares: "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the
good of the land.”
In Ps. 92: 12- 13: "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he
shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house
of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.”
CONCLUSION: These times are seasonal so they will soon pass. Know that
you are covenanted to God. Walk in obedience to God’s word and He
Himself will ensure that in the midst of the famine He prospers you and
causes you to be the envy of the world.
OVERCOMING THE FAMINE 2
INTRO: In the first article I had shared with you the need to obey God’s
word and I emphasized obedience as the winning strategy for these
times. Whereas obedience is key let me use this service to emphasize
that before you even obey, you have to have the word or instructions
that you must obey; for your obedience must be according to the word you
have received. Consequently to overcome in these times getting a word
from God is key.
a. Direct- In 1Kgs17: 2 the Bible says:
"Then the word of the Lord came to him saying.” Positioning yourself to
hear God directly is key to overcoming in these times. Elijah heard God
clearly to go to the brook Cherith; to drink from the brook, and to be
fed by the ravens there.
These are not the days of trial by error. Voices are many but to
overcome in the times what voice you need to hear is not that of
stranger but the voice of the good shepherd.
In Jn. 10: 3- 5 the Bible says: "To him the porter open; and the sheep
hear his voice: and he calls his own sheep by name, and lead them out.
And when he put forth his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep
follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not
follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of
strangers.”
To position yourself to hear God’s voice you must become His sheep. Two
major characteristics of sheep are:
(i) - They are meek- To be meek means to be quiet and obedient. Some of
us are too noisy and rebellious, we are full of ourselves. God does not
deal with such people for He abhors the proud; He resists them but gives
grace to the humble.
In 1Pet 5:5 the Bible says: "Humble yourselves therefore under the
mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.”
(ii)- They are foolish- God wants us to become ‘foolish’ for His sake
and so Apostle Paul in 1 Cor. 4: 10 declares that
" We are fools for Christ’s sake.”
Some of us we behave in a way that makes us declare that we know more
than God and so professing ourselves to be wise we become fools.
In Rom 1: 22 the Bible says: "Professing themselves to be wise, they
became fools.”
This type of attitude is dangerous because God does not deal with such
people; they are presumptuous. Take King David, for instance, he never
claimed to be wise that was why he always enquires of the Lord before he
takes any step. Consequently he heard God constantly and survived his
difficult times.
Elijah was God’s sheep so in difficult times; in the time of famine,
God’s voice kept coming to Him directly, leading him to the provisions
for his life in the midst of the famine. Be God’s sheep, hear His voice
directly and overcome this season.
b. Indirectly- In 1Kgs17:13, we see that the hopeless widow in the midst
of the famine getting a word from God but indirectly, through the
prophet Elijah.
V. 16 says: "the bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil
run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah.”
Whereas in the same situation Elijah got his overcoming word directly
from God, the widow got hers indirectly from God. This brings us to a
profound responsibility. There is need for us to be careful about whom
we are listening to. Who are you listening to speak God’s word to you?
How do you know He is speaking to you what God wants you to hear?
If the word comes from God not even a jot of it will fail to come to
pass at the fullness of time. First, it will work true peace in your
heart. In other words there’ll be an inner witness. In Rom 8:16 the
Bible says: "The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we
are the children of God.” Which Spirit is the Bible talking about? It is
talking about the Spirit of Grace. Jesus says in Jn.6: 63 "It is the
spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak
unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
Secondly, whatever God has commanded to be spoken, He will bring to
pass. In Dt. 18: 21- 22, the Bible says
"And if thou say in thine heart, how shall we know the word which the
Lord hath not spoken? When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if
the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord
hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou
shall not be afraid of him.”
However, please know that no matter how true the word of the prophet may
have come from God, if you do not believe, nothing of it will come to
pass. See Isa. 7: 1-9.
God spoke to Ahaz King of Judah indirectly through the prophet Isaiah.
In V9 {b} the bible says: "If you will not believe, surely you shall not
be established.”
This is why in 2 Chron. 20: 20 {b} the Levite Jahaziel under the Holy
Spirit says: "Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established;
believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.”
The widow believed Elijah, obey the word of command he gave her and
overcome the famine. Don’t just obey; until you believe the word, your
obedience may not be fruitful.
CONCLUSION- To hear God, you must position yourself by becoming a sheep
in His pasture, by being humble and quiet, and by becoming a fool for
His sake and obey when it does not make sense to you. If you hear Him
indirectly make sure there is an inner witness and that faith has arisen
in your heart to believe God’s servant. Be sure, the people you are
listening to are true servants of God and not charlatans who are seeking
to ensnare you just to enrich themselves. 
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